https://www.facebook.com/106616274507630/

The Domain For Commongain, Gautefall, Drangedal (2026)

21/12/2020

Week 15

Weight: 73kg

17/12/2020

How to build a strong core. (Part 2 – the “do’s”)

A well developed corset prevents spinal injuries. A well developer corset increases efficiency and functionality. A well developed corset plays a key role in most of the fundamental lifts, like squats, dead lifts, rows, snatches, military presses. Studies shown, that the most optimal activation of paraspinal muscle groups occurs when using 70%-85% of your one rep max in those compound movements. Besides training your abdomen, you also get a bonus in training your glutes, shoulders and legs as well. The results of an experiment published a year ago showed that deadlifts with a weight of 70% of the maximum weight resulted in an activation of 88% (muscles around the spine). For comparison, the popular abdominal crunches caused only 58% of activation, and lunges 46%.

Instead of isolated exercises (short front side crunches, sit-ups), use complex exercises such as a plank; "Windshield wiper" - that is, in an overhang - alternating movements of the legs imitating wipers in a car, etc. They engage the abdominal muscles to a much greater extent.

Moreover, you need to think about adding the balance component to the program, which results in greater activity for all the muscles. Combined with weight training, it benefits in adding various levels of difficulty to continually provide you with unique challenges.

http://main.poliquingroup.com/Tips/tabid/130/EntryId/2308/THESE-are-the-Best-Bulletproof-Ab-Exercises-Squats-Deads-Chins-Olympic-Lifts.aspx
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2013/03000/Integration_Core_Exercises_Elicit_Greater_Muscle.5.aspx?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=7b543885546b05712bb61ca7ea9bed6ac5cecb75-1606894367-0-AWQR8WRtcddurUHTr7MYMus2ZYdW-OdG-yZzOSB7QRoPkcxnZUENUBwzx148k_PGRlfsE2Apfs9OBXrmSIapByRkulCjiUq2QFIs6KSkayqpV5EhmxTINk2EK39eZa0u36BLQDczFFdVsXOyOWG1dyQY0TigLYKWLX_ZTH2jNCt2ItvT-zVahTV_ZWG3FxY-92d98p2Sq4uGgA9_jFbB8lPZJLB0c-enCelEOSSnOAP_xFrjdB8ZWWRmFYuESpWUYo2hud9Rv3x1WBOWqO7G3F9PZMoEjl4gdoz10IvRbhMcyjkrFMxoPXGaf6AzmdTC8199Ea1EZxv0AJniRIRb7HiSjBLpt1hOTtrqI-D9PA3id301LBkXfAfYjvZ9o8ZO7K070XjmINTYPW9XvOht2coPbvDrA7fCbgELpjjojSJX2chyS8PUSjfTxSsMfiP_-wjNSe__C79OfsAJr4pulaprYW70I_XUi01qf0rlpNYX
https://www.archives-pmr.org/article/S0003-9993(11)00336-4/fulltext
Man photo created by drobotdean - www.freepik.com

14/12/2020

Week 14

Weight: 72,9kg

11/12/2020

How to build a strong core. (Part 1 – the “don’ts”)

As reference, I’ve typed in the phrase “abs” on youtube, just to make sure that I’m up to date with current reality. Although the propositions were maybe entertaining to watch, not much practical knowledge was found at all. The fixed schedules were a little worrying: “Get abs in 2 weeks!”, “Killer turbo intensive 10 minute workout”. I rendered the “no equipment” to be quite disappointing as well.
You have to keep in mind, that every athlete has different needs for different effective to maximum training volume. Doing the same workouts with a fixed set of minutes is only going to leave you in stagnation and frustration in the long run. Getting aesthetic abs is not a matter of training 2-3 weeks - rather few to several months. And not exclusively by training, because a proper diet plays an essential role. You need to keep in mind that burning fat is a global, not a local process. Within one hour of intense training, few hundred burned calories will come from different energy resources OTHER than fat (e.g. carbohydrates).
Abdominal muscles should be treated the same as any other muscles. Why do people tend to fixate on promoting 10 minute daily abs training? Have you tried doing the same with any other muscles, like for example legs, chest, or back? Of course you haven’t. The average guidelines for Time Under Tension on a WEEKLY basis are: up 20 minutes for large muscle groups, and up to 10 minutes for the small ones. By exceeding your Maximum Effective Volume three to four times over, what would happen is you’d experience a decrease in your core strength and disruption in the functioning of the straight and oblique muscles, as well as the spine extensors. The more you abuse your abs, the worse your running, swimming or lifting will become, because your core stability will be compromised.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31188644/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3806175/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6590962/
Sport photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com

06/12/2020

Week 13

Weight: 72,3kg

Adding more load to your training isn’t the only indication of your improvement. Especially when using a home gym you have to rely on counting your volume. With a limited repertoire of load and calisthenics, you’re often left with thinking up different order of exercises and repetition range, and that may blur your vision regarding of the progress you’re making. After 16 weeks I’ve only gotten up to 5kg more added weight in most of the exercises. If I didn’t keep track of reps and sets I would’ve been seriously alarmed. Once I’ve looked into my notes I realized that, my overall volume has gone up to about 33% while maintaining the same intensity. In conclusion, a hardly noticeable 2% weekly improvement, given the work, time and observation may add up to substantial results.

30/11/2020

Week 12

Weight: 72,1kg

23/11/2020

Week 11

Weight: 71,5kg

I went through numerous articles about the supremacy of intervals over cardio. The difference is quite significant, to say the least. Nevertheless I can understand, why one might not necessarily fall in love with the process of running in fast-paced tempo. My conclusion is that obviously you must keep your body from adapting to the same regimes, may it be intervals, cardio, strength, endurance or whatever – everything’s better in moderation. But walking is something your body is meant to do on a daily basis, that’s why you should at least stick with doing 8000+ steps per day; my arguments being:
1. It’s a form of activity which can be done anywhere, by anyone, in almost any state you’re in.
2. It’s a nice change from the common sitting/static lifestyle, especially during short and chilly days – may relieve you of accumulated spine pressure throughout the day.
3. It’s an effective way to enhance your intestinal peristalsis, which causes a better processing and distribution of nutrients and minerals for your muscles.
4. By standing when you can, instead of sitting down you engage your core muscles a little bit and for a longer period, and it leads to burning more calories.
5. It has a low risk injury factor.

14/11/2020

Week 10

Weight: 71,2kg

13/11/2020

Women should do the lifting! The role of heavy weights in women’s training program. (Part 2)

Do workouts „designed for ladies” work?
When running in similar heart rate intensity, the adaptation of the organism follows. After a while you should increase the intensity (e.g. apply interval training). You may be walking everyday and you won’t lose much weight. What’s more – even runners, dealing with over 70 kilometers a week were getting fatter annually. Only those who switched time and pace, were getting slimmer. In order to get results, you need to execute more of an all rounded approach, like crossfit + aerobics + intervals + resistance training.
Unfortunately, the most efficient resistance trainings (e.g. full body workouts, push-pull-legs) are the most unpopular among the ladies. Instead, they take the easy way out often deluding themselves, exercising with light weights (e.g. Insanity, Bikini Body Workouts, Tone It Up etc). All the “new breakthroughs” are basically a misconception made for women, who don’t want to train hard. The minimal amount of weight applied, is by no means an adequate stimulus for the nervous system and the muscles in order to induce a fat loss effect. They may have a nice choreography and sweet, colorful little dumbbells – but that’s not the way to gain anything.
The GOAT movements for general body improvements are: barbell squats (glutes, quads, back, abs), deadlifts (hamstrings, glutes, back), rows and pull-ups. How many women does them? And yet, a solid session combined with 20-30min of cardio would produce better results, rather than several, some of those mentioned earlier. Therefore, the majoraty of ladies has an uneven muscle to fat ratio. A woman can and should train the same like a man. Heavy sets, proper aerobics and intervals. In a researched paper on body pump® training program – after 12 week of observation there as been no changes regarding fat tissue and body weight, additionally the level of lactate threshold stayed the same (which means NO increase in physical performance)! Only the strength progression was confirmed along with a reduction of metabolic stress during lower body parts training, but those results will bring you any form of strength training. I leave the use of similar programs and their meaning for everyone to think about.

If you are fat – you may go for high reps your whole life – it won’t bring you the results you’re looking for. Slimming down is not an impressive feat. The real achievement is adding muscle to your frame, in consequence – gaining those curves in your glutes and beautiful legs.

http://pilarmartinescudero.es/JunioDic2014/GrecoEfecto%20entrenamiento%20Bodypam.pdf
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22692120/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25254898/
Background photo created by lyashenko - www.freepik.com
People photo created by Racool_studio - www.freepik.com

10/11/2020

Week 9

Weight: 70,5kg

Even though you might not have access, or simply lack the weight to add to your sets, remember that you have other tools in means of progression:

1. Intensity
2. Volume
3. Frequency
4. Tempo

Any tweak you make in those conditions, forces your body to readapt and grow. If you reach a standstill going on for at least 3 weeks, it might be a sign to switch it up!

04/11/2020

Women should do the lifting! The role of heavy weights in women’s training program. (Part 1)

Slimming, sculpting, highlighting and firming the figure – Ladies, why are you afraid of avoiding proper terminology? Make your goal clear: I want to gain muscle mass!

“Women only sculpt, highlight, tone the body, and men build muscle”.

Those two groups have the exact same goal in common. To build muscle and get rid of the fat, in order to look more aesthetic.

„If you’d lift weights, you’d turn In to a overgrown, unfeminine monster”.

It is a strongly rooted, as well as harmful myth. Many guys at the gym advertise the girls to refrain from lifting heavy. Women panic when they visualize overgrown muscles on themselves, and the fact is that it’s impossible accidentally overdoing it with the gains, without a proper pharmaceutical support. Females have way to little androgens, because they do not have testicles, therefore the quantity of the most manly and muscular hormone – testosterone, is negligible compared to men (about 24 times less). In conclusion, the thought of a woman becoming a Schwarzenegger is rather absurd.

Building muscle mass is your greatest ally when fighting fat tissue, especially for women! The more muscle you build, the faster you burn the fat. Muscle tissue increases burning calories while you rest (REE) throughout the day. If you are hesitant in building muscle, the harder it will be to lose excessive weight.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395920302164
https://balancemyhormones.co.uk/what-are-normal-testosterone-levels/

01/11/2020

Week 8

Weight: 70,5kg

Going through several fitness channels, I’ve often come across statements, that If you’re going out drinking, don’t count the calories from alcohol. “Don’t be a slave to your diet, you’re going out to reset so stop thinking about unnecessary things!” – in my experience that’s just plain sabotaging your efforts. I used to wonder, why on earth when eating 2,200kcal and going strictly through all the routines my weight just wouldn’t drop. Nowadays it’s somewhere about 3000, and I’d say it’s enough to sustain my current form. So there you have it – pro tip for your weekends – count your glasses!

The Domain For Commongain